AI audio and speech generation platforms combine text‑to‑speech (TTS), voice cloning, speech‑to‑text, real‑time APIs and marketplaces for licensed voices and audio assets. As of 2026 these systems have moved from research demos to production tooling: expressive TTS and high‑fidelity cloning (ElevenLabs, Resemble AI, Descript’s Overdub) are used for voiceovers, dubbing and generative voice agents; research models such as Google AudioLM have driven improvements in natural prosody and multi‑speaker audio synthesis; and turnkey services (Murf AI, Podcastle) package studio‑grade voices, multilingual dubbing and editing workflows for creators. The category covers three practical areas: voice synthesis & transcription (Speech‑to‑Text and TTS pipelines used for captions, search and accessibility), text‑to‑speech tools (cloud APIs, real‑time agents and desktop studios for voiceovers and IVR), and audio asset marketplaces (licensed voices, cloned voice stores and stock audio for reuse). Supporting products include lightweight transcription utilities and meeting capture platforms (Recall.ai) and vertical voice operators (e.g., Sophie) that integrate calendar and CRM flows. Key trends shaping the space are production readiness (latency, multi‑language support, controllable prosody), developer APIs for real‑time agents, integrated editing ecosystems that combine cloning + transcript editing, and growing emphasis on governance: consent workflows, watermarking, provenance, and legal licensing for cloned voices. Ethical and operational considerations—misuse prevention, model transparency, and voice licensing—are now central to procurement decisions. For buyers and creators, the choice narrows to tradeoffs among realism, control, latency, multilingual coverage, integration APIs, and rights management across platforms and marketplaces.